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A day after it promulgated an ordinance to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority empowered to recommend transfers and postings of all Group A and DANICS officers, the Centre moved the Supreme Court, seeking a review of its May 11 judgment which gave control over services to the Delhi government.
Citing “errors” in the judgment, the Centre said it “has the effect of destroying the basic structure of the Constitution, wherein with the effect of conjoint reading of Articles 73, 239AA and 246, the Union has overriding legislative as well as executive powers in respect of a Union Territory which is not a state”.
The judgment “has upset the basic tenets of the constitutional idea of federalism, inasmuch as the NCT (National Capital Territory) of Delhi has been equated to a state, by granting it legislative and executive authority akin to a state, leaving the Parliament with recourse only to its plenary powers to legislate for a territory that is its own and not an independent federal unit, as though it were to legislate for a state.
It is submitted that the said judgment suffers from an error apparent on the face of the record as it suffers from a fundamental fallacy, as it ignores that the working and functioning of the capital government affects the nation as a whole,” adding that “the nominee of the President, the Lieutenant-Governor or the central government, both are also manifestations of democracy when compared to the elected government of Delhi”.
Govt & Politics
Quad leaders echo Modi on Ukraine ours must not be an era of war (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Quad leaders on Saturday called for ending the Ukraine war through dialogue and diplomacy while asserting that it must not be an era of war, a formulation that echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s position.
The leaders of the four Quad nations — Modi, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese — discussed the situation in Ukraine along with other pressing global challenges at the grouping’s annual summit in Hiroshima.
In his address at the summit, Modi described the Indo-Pacific region as an “engine” of global trade, innovation and development and said its success and security are important for the whole world.
The PM emphasised the importance of consolidating Quad’s constructive agenda and delivering tangible outcomes for the region. Modi also invited Quad leaders to India for the next summit of the grouping in 2024.
Without naming China, which has been increasing its military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific, the joint statement by the Quad leaders reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific while strongly opposing “destabilising or unilateral actions” that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion.
The Quad leaders also unveiled a ‘Vision Statement’ titled ‘Enduring Partners for Indo-Pacific’ expressing their resolve to act as a “force for good” to find common solutions for region-wide benefit.
Express Network
Defiance of SC assault on federalism: Opp slams Centre’s Delhi ordinance (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Centre’s move of issuing an ordinance that effectively nullified a recent Supreme Court order that handed over crucial powers to the Delhi government drew condemnation from Opposition parties across the board, with the Modi government accused of “bulldozing the Constitutional federal framework”.
The ordinance seeks to create a National Capital Civil Service Authority that will have the power to recommend the transfer and posting of officials serving in Delhi.
While the Congress said the ordinance seeks to change “constitutional principles”, making it a “bizarre” piece of law, the RJD called it a “warning signal” to all elected governments. The JD(U) said what was happening “was not good for democracy”.
The Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of “making a mockery” of the Constitution and even the purpose of ordinances.
The CPI(M) said the move was a “direct assault” on the federal character of the Constitution and the norms of accountability and democratic governance as defined by the Supreme Court.
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, who appeared for the Delhi government in the matter in the Supreme Court, said the Supreme Court in its May 11 judgment had quoted the Constitution, which gives Parliament the power to enact laws even for Delhi.
Nowhere it said that the basic architecture, intent and rationale for the creation of Delhi’s Constitutional status can be nullified by an act of Parliament or ordinance.
Climate G7 sets 2050 net zero target for major economies (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The G7 countries have asked all “major economies”, including countries such as India and China, to commit to attaining a net-zero emissions status by 2050 “at the latest”.
The communique released on Saturday after the meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, also calls upon the major economies to let their greenhouse gas emissions “peak” no later than 2025.
These are new demands from G7 countries, and go completely against stated positions until now. It has been well acknowledged that developing countries like India would have longer time-frames to let their emissions ‘peak’ or attain the net-zero status.
The communique, substantially devoted to issues of climate change and energy transition, as in the last few years, does not name any country and refers to “major economies” instead.
India has said it would turn net zero only by 2070, while China has set a target of 2060. Russia and Saudi Arabia, also amongst major economies, have also set 2060 as their net zero targets.
On the issue of ‘peaking’, China has indicated — not promised — that its emissions would peak around 2030, India sees its emissions continue to grow well into the next decade.
Science says the world as a whole must reduce its emissions by at least 45% from 2005 levels by 2030, and must become net zero by 2050, in order to have any realistic chance of keeping temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times.
But the bulk of the obligation for ensuring this lies on the rich and developed countries, which are considered primarily responsible for causing global warming. Countries such as India are allowed greater space and flexibility in setting these targets for themselves.
World
Zelensky arrives in Japan for G7 meeting (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky joined leaders of major democracies on Saturday at a summit in Japan dominated by a push to present a unified front against both Russia and China.
The Group of Seven (G7) talks in Hiroshima are seeking common ground on a host of global issues, including how to confront Beijing’s growing military and economic assertiveness as well as the war raging in Europe.
Zelensky, dressed in his trademark military themed clothing, made a headline-grabbing entrance as he touched down on board a French government plane in a Japanese city once obliterated by a nuclear bomb.
Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine. Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today, moments after arriving before heading to a dizzying round of bilateral meetings with leaders at the summit.
His attendance underscores the pressing need to maintain Western unity in the face of Russian aggression. With Russia’s aerial assaults pounding Ukrainian cities and Kyiv preparing for a counter offensive, there is a growing urgency to Zelensky’s appeals for more advanced weapons and tighter sanctions on Moscow.
A joint communique issued by G7 nations on Saturday focused heavily on Russia’s war against Ukraine, which the block “condemned in the strongest possible terms”.
Economy
Withdrawing Rs 2000 note: Testing time ahead for banks (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Banks will have to gear up for exchange of 181 crore pieces of Rs 2,000 notes from May 23 onwards following the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decision to withdraw the notes from the system.
As there are around 1.55 lakh bank branches in the country, each branch, on an average, will have to handle 11,677 pieces of Rs 2000 notes – or 116 notes per day between May 23 and September 30, 2023.
While the whole exercise of exchange of Rs 2,000 notes may not appear as big as the demonetisation exercise in November-December 2016 when branches across the country witnessed chaotic scenes for exchange of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, banks are expected to deploy staff to handle the latest exercise.
There is a cost involved in exchange of notes. Banks will have to shell out money to reconfigure ATMs and cash recyclers accordingly. There are 2.57 lakh ATMs across the country, according to RBI data.
The RBI had earlier stated that among banknotes, “Rs 100 denomination banknote was the most preferred” and “Rs 2,000 banknote was the least preferred denomination”.
The ‘banknote survey of consumers’, which was published in the RBI annual report for 2021-22, involved around 11,000 respondents from the rural, semi-urban, urban and metropolitan areas, between the age of 18-79 years with a gender representation of 60:40 for males and females.
The survey findings revealed that, among banknotes, Rs 100 was the most preferred while Rs 2000 was the least preferred denomination. Among coins, denomination of Rs 5 was the most preferred whereas Rs 1 was the least preferred.
G 7 calls for developing global technical standards for AI (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations called for the development and adoption of technical standards to keep artificial intelligence (AI) “trustworthy”, saying governance of the technology has not kept pace with its growth.
While the G7 leaders, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, recognised that the approaches to achieving “the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary”, they said in a statement the rules for digital technologies like AI should be “in line with our shared democratic values”.
The agreement came after the European Union, which participates in the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world’s first comprehensive AI law that could form a precedent among the advanced economies.
“We want AI systems to be accurate, reliable, safe and non-discriminatory, regardless of their origin,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The G7 leaders said they “need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI”, a subset of the technology popularised by the ChatGPT app.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT pushed Elon Musk and a group of AI experts to raise an alarm in March calling for a six-month pause in developing more powerful systems, citing potential risks to society.
A month later, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to find ways to control AI technologies, saying they were developing faster than expected.